Friends for Life: Part 3
By: Echo

I was in the Lodging House watching Race, Blink, Skittery, Snipeshooter, and Pie Eater play poker. None of the other guys wanted to get into the game. Race had won at the tracks today, something that almost never happened, and they were afraid he was on a winning streak.

I heard a noise and looked at the door where I saw Brooklyn talking to some of the guys and laughing about something she was holding. I tried to see what she had in her hands but when she saw me looking she hid it behind her back and smiled innocently. "Hey Echo."

I stood up and walked over to her. "What are you hiding?" I asked suspiciously.

She laughed. "Me? Hiding something? I'm not hiding anything."

I glared at her and she backed away. I moved to the left and then the right to try and see what she had but she managed to keep it out of my sight. Just when I was about to give up Snitch bumped her and she dropped.... my journal! She had found the book I wrote my every thought, secret, and feeling in! I dodged for the book but she grabbed it and ran off. I chased her around while she fumbled with the pages to try and read one.

"Give that to me! You can't read that!" I yelled.

She laughed. "Well, I AM reading it!"

I tripped her and the book flew a feet. We both started scrambling for it, each tripping the other trying to get to it first. Just when I was about to pick it up someone stepped on it. I looked up and smiled. "Hi Jack. Would you mind moving your foot and letting me get that book?"

He picked up the book, kneeled down to my level, and smiled jokingly. "Why should I?"

I smiled and kissed him. "Is that a good enough reason?"

He handed me the book and we all stood up. "I bet you wouldn't have let me have that book if I would have kissed you." Brooklyn said, pretending to pout, and then laughed.

Jack winked at her and then picked me up and threw me over his shoulder. "Hey! Put me down!" I said and screamed when he started to drop me. All the guys started laughing. "That's not funny! Jack! Put. me. down!" He walked over to his bunk and sat me down. "Thanks." I said and tried to walk away but he put his arm in the way. "Sorry, gotta pay da toll." He said and started laughing.

I crossed my arms over my chest. "Forget it Jack. You almost dropped me!"

He put on an innocent face. "Oh, come on Echo. You know I'se just kiddin'."

I rolled my eyes and looked away. He shrugged. "Okay, just be dat way." Then he started tickling me. I wiggled and tried to get away but couldn't stop laughing. He pinned me down and smiled. "Give up?"

"Yeah, just stop tickling me!"

He smiled and kissed me while the guys whistled and cheered. "I should try dat more often."

I smiled evily. "I wouldn't if I were you."

"Why not? What are ya gonna do ta me?" He asked teasingly.

"Same thing I'll do to Brooklyn if she ever touches that book again."

"You guard dat stupid book too carefully... what's in dere anyway?" She asked curiously and walked closer.

I stood up, put the book behind my back and started walking to the door. "Stuff."

She followed. "What kind of stuff?"

"You know.... the kind of stuff that's none of your business." I said as I ran out the door and into our room and hid the book where Brooklyn couldn't find it. She walked in and frowned when she saw that she was too late. I smiled. "Don't look so upset, you know I would get it back from you before you could read any of it anyway."

She sighed. "I swear you guard that thing with your life... you care more about that book than you care about Jack!"

I shook my head. "I just don't anyone to read it, that's all."

"But why?" She asked on the verge of whining.

I rolled my eyes. "I has my deepest thoughts in it."

She laughed. "Your deepest thoughts? That's not sayin' much! Your deepest thoughts are about as deep as a dried up river!"

I threw my hat at her and chased her into the guys room where we talked for a few more hours.

~*^^*~*^^*~*^^*~*^^*~*^^*~

I was selling papes like usual and looking forward to meeting Echo at Tibby's when an older man walked up to me. "Wanna buy a pape?"

He shook his head. "No, I just want to talk to you."

I stared at him suspiciously. "What about?"

"Your girlfriend."

I tensed up. "What about 'er? Is she all right?"

He looked down. "I don't know how to tell you this. You see, I was sitting on a bench in Central Park when a girl sat beside me. We talked for a while and had dinner at a little Italian restaraunt, and well, she was great. We went on a few dates and I thought it was something special. But I was doing an errand in Brooklyn and I saw her with a newsie carrying a slingshot and cane and they were.... well, it would be rude to go into details. She told me it was just that one guy and that she was going to break up with him... I believed her too. She changed selling spots with a friend of hers so I could meet her at lunch every day, and I was starting to forget about the other guy... until I saw her with you yesterday. I thought it would be best if you knew what was going on."

"You're lyin'." I said coldly and started to walk away.

"Go to the place she's been selling at 11:30 and see for yourself." He called out before I got out of hearing range.

I spent the rest of the morning thinking about what he had said and decided to find out if it was the truth. I walked to Echo's selling spot and watched her sell her papes until the man I had been talking to walked up to her. They talked for a while and before he left he kissed her on the cheek. I glared at her for a while and then walked towards Tibby's.

~*^^*~*^^*~*^^*~*^^*~*^^*~

I lined up behind Jack to buy my papes. He was completely silent and hadn't talked to me since last night. At the time I thought he was just tired or something, but I was beginning to have my doubts.

I bought my papes and started to walk towards my selling spot but about half way there I was pulled into an alley. I turned around and saw Jack staring at me coldly. "I can't believe you... I neva' woulda guessed. Ya know, it's bad enough dat you had ta do dis ta me, why did ya 'ave ta bring me best friend inta it? Da two people I trust da most in da woild."

I stared at him in confusion. "What do you mean?"

He laughed bitterly. "Don't act like ya don't know what I's talkin' bout."

"But I don't!" I said indignantly.

"Let me give ya a clue... we'se trough."

I glared at him and tried to hide the fact that I would rather have him pull out a gun and shoot me than say what he had said. "Fine with me." I said and walked out of the alley and down the street.

Not long after I walked away I heard some yelling coming from behind me so I turned around to see Matt and Jack fighting. It didn't take me long to realize that Matt had probably heard my conversation in the alley with Jack and was now playing the role of the over protective big brother. This did nothing but piss me off more. I walked back to where they were fighting and stopped in front of them and yelled. "Stop it!"

In reply, Jack punched Matt and knocked him to the ground, he was going to kick him a few times but I stopped him by giving him a black eye. Then Matt started trying to get to Jack so I decked him and finally stopped them from killing each other. They both glared at me but I ignored them. "Jack, go sell your papers. Matt go... do whatever it is you do. I'm leaving... I have no tolerance for assholes." I said accusingly and glared at them both before walking away.

I started walking to Brooklyn, where I knew Brooklyn would be, but I was cut off by Matt, who had chased after me. I tried to walk around him but he stepped in front of me. "Get out of my way."

He shook his head. "Sorry, I can't."

I rolled my eyes. "What, exactly, do you mean by, 'I can't'?"

He smiled. "I mean, I can't. Something is bothering you and I'm not going to leave you alone until you tell me what it is."

"Nothing is bothering me! I'm fine!" I yelled angrily.

He stared at me, completely serious now. "You aren't fine. I know when you're fine, and this isn't it. You've hit three of your friends and that's not something you do when you're fine."

I shrugged. "Spot ISN'T my friend and you and Jack deserved it."

He glared at me. "That doesn't mean anything. I've never seen you hit your enemies, let alone the guy you love!"

"I'm not-"

He cut me off before I could finish my sentence. "Don't deny it, you do care about him." He said scornfully.

I glared at him. "Why can't you just leave me alone? I am so sick of you protecting me! Why can't you just stay out of my life and start worrying about your own?!"

He looked at the ground, obviously hurt. "I'm just trying to help you because you're my friend and I care about you."

I shoved him. "Stop saying that! You aren't my friend! We haven't been friends since we were kids! We've drifted apart... if you really cared you would stay out of my life beause I hate you! I don't care if you die! Just stay out of my life!"

"Fine." He said coldly and walked away. I stared down the street in shock until I began to feel guilty. He had been trying to help me and I had yelled at him. Before long I managed to pull myself together and started walking to Brooklyn again.

When I found her, she was fighting with Spot about something. I watched and waited to walk up to her until she started walking away so I wouldn't interupt them."Hey Brooklyn, can I talk to you for a second?"

"Go to hell." She said coldly and walked away.

I blinked in suprise. "Well, that was rude... I think she's mad at me." I saw Spot staring out at the river so I walked up to him. "She broke up with you, didn't she?" I asked softly.

"Why don't ya just go back ta Manhattan an' mind yer own business?!"

"I was just trying to talk to you!" I said sharply. "I've had a bad enough day already, the last thing I need is the almighty Spot Conlon getting pissed off at me. I just wanted someone to talk to! I can't talk to Jack, he broke up with me and I don't even know why! Brooklyn is pissed off at me, and Matt, the only other person in the world I can talk to, is pissed off at me because I can't keep my mouth shut! And now, Spot Conlon is pissed off at me! What else can go wrong today?!" I saw Spot staring at me and I threw my hands up. "What?!"

"Jacky-boy broke up wit ya?" He asked in disbelief.

"No, I just added that one in for the fun of it!" I said sarcastically.

"I didn't see dat one comin'." He said and looked at the river again.

I rolled my eyes. "No one saw that one coming. Yesterday things were just fine! Then he just starts talking about the two people he trust the most bertaying him.. I assume he was talking about you but I don't know why! What do you have to do with anything?!"

He stared at me skeptically. "Brooklyn was talkin' bout ya too."

I stared at the water. "Is it just me, or is something about this situation not right?"

He nodded. "Somethin's goin' on... meet me heya at seven, I gotta talk ta some a da guys."

Part 4
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